The Prize Fighting Business had the chance to chat with Factory X fighter Paulina “Pita” Macias about her career and his aspirations to make it big in the fight game.

Watch Paulina’s full interview with The Prize Fighting Business on YouTube here:

Q: You’re currently signed with LFA, which is a great feeder organization for the UFC. Would you look at another option than the UFC if it became available?

A: No. No, I don’t even think about other options. I have the UFC in mind.

Q: What do you think it takes to get to the UFC from where you are right now?

A: I just have to keep winning. Finish. Get big finishes. Win. Maybe get on the Contender Series (Dana White Contender Series). Get another big finish there. Impress Dana (White). I think that’s what it takes. I like to think about what makes you stick out from everyone else.

Q: Paint me a picture of what a normal week of training camp looks like.

A: You know, your standard 2-a-days. Except for small glove sparring day. Only one training that day. I focus a lot on going to the chiropractor (and recovery). Which is something I didn’t do as much in Judo, because you know, you are young and think that you can tape everything and it’s not going to just fall off. Eventually, you have to have surgery, like I did. I’m so big on recovery and training smart. I think the biggest thing I can say is that I learned to train smart. I already did the grinding, and I know how to train harder than everyone else. I know how to fight. There’s this grunt that you have to have. I already have that. I know I have that.

Q: Do you generally have a strength and conditioning program that you follow?

A: Yea. It’s been different for other camps. It depends how everything is going in camp. Sometimes I may need more strength or more conditioning. Or whatever it is.

Q: Who does it for you?

A: I was working at Landows like everybody in Colorado. I was working with Aaron Porter there. Aaron is awesome. He’d warm me up for my fights too. So something else I didn’t have to think about.

Q: So Landows for strength and performance, recovery, mainly chiropractic work, anything else for recovery?

A: Yea. My recovery is done at Infinity Wellness Center. The doctor there, Dr. Tim Cummings, has actually been working with me and sponsored me since I was in Judo. They’re like family. They’ve known me since I was so young. It’s pretty great to have someone who has known my body, and my injuries for so long. So yea, I think that’s super important. Just being super active about recovery. It’s not something I was great at in Judo. I thought I could ice and tape everything, until one day they’re like you have to have surgery because you’ve destroyed everything.

Q: What did you get your degree in? (At the University of Colorado)

A: Communications.

Q: So you could do your own marketing!

A: I guess I could. I’m like the worst communicator, but that’s okay. I like to communicate by fighting.

Q: Do your sponsors support you year-round?

A: Yea, a lot of them do.

Q: How did you get your nickname, “Pita”?

A: I’ve actually had it since before I was born. So, when my mom was pregnant with me, I guess there were all these pregnancy issues. And my dad would just be like, “She’s a pain in the ass, and she’s not even born yet.”  “She’s a pain in the ass, and she’s not even born yet, she’s a Pita.”

Q: Pain in the ass, Pita.

A: Yea! That’s what it stands for, so people have called me Pita my whole life.

Q: How old were you when you first started Judo?

A: Seven

Q: So from seven to what age? How long?

A: Twenty-six or twenty-seven.

Q: Wow, so 20 years. And all that time you’re traveling the world?

A: Yea, pretty much.

Q: What gym did you start training at for MMA specifically?

A: Glendale Fight Club. That was my first experience with MMA. Just helping Rhonda (Rousey) with her camps.

Q: Did you have a goal when you first walked into the Judo gym? Do you remember what that was? Why you’re doing it?

A: By the time I was 7 or 8 years old, my only goal was to be the greatest athlete that ever lived. I was not a normal child. Now that I look back, I guess I thought I was normal. I just wanted to be the greatest athlete that ever lived. That’s one goal I can remember since I was a child. The Olympic rings were always up in my room since I was a kid. Even before Judo because of cheerleading. I think that’s one of the things that pushes me so hard. I didn’t get to accomplish those rings, so I’m going to get a UFC belt if it’s the last thing I do.

Q: What tip do you have for a young aspiring fighter?

A: Patience. But also realizing that you’re not going to have your entire life to be an athlete.